


The Crown of Conscience

by Sprinkles257



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Do dead characters count?, Gen, He's still a sweet guy but...Papyrus your angst is showing, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Papyrus Has Issues, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - King Papyrus Ending, Sans Remembers Resets (sort of), This is a sad story so I gave the chapters funny titles, This is really sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-02-16 08:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13050195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sprinkles257/pseuds/Sprinkles257
Summary: My interpretation of the King Papyrus Ending - He's trying his best but it's becoming harder and harder to do so.(I like to think Papyrus DOESN'T know about the characters being dead, but I decided to expand my horizon. Besides, I can see him figuring it out. He's cool that way.)-This is unfinished, sorry! I had a lot of fun writing it, though.





	1. Does This Job Have Ratings on Yelp?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [You Cannot Give Up Just Yet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11906292) by [KaptinKate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaptinKate/pseuds/KaptinKate). 



> I've always been a fan of the all-out runs (Pacifist and Genocide), but Neutral is okay. Not my favorite, but good. My favorites OF the Neutral runs are the Betrayed Undyne Ending, the Pacifist-Neutral Ending, and - you guessed it, the King Papyrus Ending.  
> I swear, this is the angstiest thing I've ever written and probably will ever write (Future Me: IS THAT A CHALLENGE???). Fluff will always have a part of my heart, but angst is good too.  
> Man. For those that like this, thank you and please enjoy!  
> (Thank you Google, for the definition of "conscientious".)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No, it doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It begins, mwahahaha!  
> I try to write a lot of fluff so enjoy this pile of sad. (I'm the type of person that loves my favorite characters to pieces, but who says there can't be a little suffering in there, too? I know, I'm evil.)  
> I made myself sad by writing this, but the good type of sad. :'D  
> -  
> I'm in progress on a second chapter (and maybe even more than that), but in the case that I get lazy, I think this could be a good standalone, too. Thank you, and please enjoy!

   By process of elimination (...Um), Papyrus is the new monarch. Alphys, Mettaton, his best friend Undyne, and even the one lost Queen Toriel, were nowhere to be found. Being sentries, the skeleton brothers were at least a little recognized throughout the Underground. Practically everybody knew Sans, and albeit Papyrus was less known, he was a kind and exuberant monster to those who did. He seemed best fit for the position.

   Not today.

   By  _process of elimination._ That really hurt. Being the last (sensible, anyway) choice for a responsibility nobody wanted to bear. He wanted to be in the royal guard? Ha. Looks like he got more than he asked for. His brother helped him with the paperwork, and actually seemed to be working harder than ever. Papyrus didn't know whether to be proud or worried.

   The tall skeleton noticed Sans was acting a little peculiar lately,  _especially_ around him. He knew his brother was hiding something, but what?

   ...Being a king is kind of hard. He had to stay strong for everybody. They all just wanted to...give up. Let life take its course - but no! He couldn't let his subjects down, so he sometimes gave them inspirational speeches and gave them spaghetti but  _no matter how hard he tried-_

   Papyrus was honestly a bit tired.

   He didn't sleep much, but that was normal. He usually didn't need it. No. It wasn't a physical tired. He just missed his life in Snowdin. He missed being happy all the time, and being with Undyne, and bonding/bantering with his lazy (hard-working?) brother. When the worst thing in his life would be a sock on the floor or being a little lonely.

   "I DON'T GET IT..." He said while sitting at the kitchen table, head in his hands. 

   "hey bro, i finished some things for your appoint- whoa, what's up?" Sans said as he entered the doorway. His sentence faltered at the sight of his brother. 

   "I DON'T FREAKING GET IT!" The tall skeleton exclaimed. He seldom cursed. He must be pretty ticked off.

   "don't get what?"

   Papyrus revealed a piece of paper with red pen scribbled all over it. The only clearly visible word in the boxes was "conscientious; wishing to do what's right, especially as a job or duty." The small skeleton had an idea why that angered his brother so much, but...still. It was only a crossword, right?

   "ONE OF OUR ASSISTANTS SUGGESTED I TAKE A BREAK, SO I GOT A CROSSWORD. I THEN REMEMBERED HOW MUCH I HATE THEM." Papyrus knew he was acting like a babybones about this. He just had to put those feelings somewhere. If it was a crossword, then so be it.

   "...you're gettin' mad over a crossword?" Sans lightly teased, a sliver of hope remaining that that was the reason. Not the pressure of a civilization.

   "YES, SANS. A WORD PUZZLE IS  _EXACTLY_ THE REASON." The tall skeleton replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. Papyrus really didn't intend to direct this at his brother. He just wished he had someone to  _talk_ to about it. 

   Curse him wearing his metaphorical heart on his sleeve!

   Sans winced, but he covered it up with a shrug. “do you, uh, want to do something else?”

   Papyrus sighed. “OH, ALRIGHT.” He gave a weak smile to his brother. “MAYBE A BEDTIME STORY WILL DO…?”

   The small skeleton tried to ignore the little pang in his soul from the uncertainty in Papyrus’s voice. He shouldn’t sound that way. The bedtime story thing…sure, they were both adults, so it was a little weird – but they both enjoyed it, and it was _tradition._ “…sure.”

   So, the two skeletons went to one of the rooms in Home, which was pretty much the same as it was before – save for a few decorations. Sans read to Papyrus as he read along. He started to nod off after a while.  He wasn’t exhausted or anything, but his busy schedule combined with his brother’s moderately deep, smooth voice...it made sleep seem tempting.

   The tall skeleton no longer owned his race car bed. Kings don’t have such childish things…

   _Do_ they?

   “are you awake?” Sans asked a little after his brother’s eye sockets fell closed. No response indicated he wasn’t.

   Papyrus _has_ been a bit quiet lately. He still spoke in what skeletons addressed as “All Caps”, but it seemed more…subdued. Sans couldn’t blame him, but it still hurt to see his brother in this state. The guy had to adjust to so much in such a short time.

   Everyone has their mistakes and insecurities – yes, Papyrus too. He was innocent, but not completely sinless. He was sometimes anxious about social interaction and having friends – he always had his flamboyant attitude, but it showed more some times than others. He’s made some mistakes that caused citizens, Undyne, and even Sans to become angry at him (not for long, but it still counted in his book).

   …Oh, Undyne. He missed her a lot, he had to admit. The fish woman was rather brash, but she was also really passionate! Papyrus admired that. She was his first friend. They mainly did cooking lessons (he thought his cooking was good, but he’s never eaten it, so he doesn’t know for sure!), but the few times they _did_ spar, it was fun! They did other cool things together, but now?

   Well. They don’t.

   When he closed his eyes, he hoped his dreams would be pleasant. 

   Sans hoped so as well. He had to admit, he felt rather guilty. He lied to Papyrus about the monsters “on vacation”. He wasn’t the type to step in and confront things – especially _that._ Some were exception to those characteristics – his brother, the Lady Behind the Door – heck, even the kid. In this timeline, he would never like them, but he didn’t hate them either. They impacted society, that’s for sure.

   …He remembered he was still in Papyrus’s room. He should probably leave. He just needed to do one last thing. He whispered, so as not to be heard by the allegedly asleep skeleton, “sorry, papyrus.” That should, at least for a few hours, clear his…

_Conscience._

   

   


	2. Checking, Checking, One Two Three...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus has a speech today.  
> (Asdfghjkl I'm getting WAY too lazy with the summaries.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the stuff for King Papyrus has been done a bazillion times, and I like almost all of them, but I'd like to put my spin on it.  
> (I'm sorry for any repeated characteristics from my other stories. I do that very often where I constantly reestablish my ideas. ^^;)  
> -  
> The second chapter is done! I was going to make it longer, but I think I was at a good stopping point. I will (hopefully) get started on the third soon!

    _…WHAT WAS HE APOLOGIZING FOR?_ Papyrus wondered. Yes, he did doze off after a while, but for a few minutes more he persisted. Before fully falling asleep, all he heard was “i’m sorry”. Maybe Sans was sorry for the thing he was hiding. He just wanted to know what he was hiding. His brother may be lazy and a little weird, but he was still his brother. Papyrus wanted to help. What would be so bad that Sans couldn’t talk to him about it?

   The tall skeleton had a speech to do today. He had to give the monsters some inspiration, and go over political happenings - not a ton to cover, but still. It was his duty. On any other occasion he would be overjoyed to do this, to have all this popularity (he was "getting the recognition he utterly deserved")...Less so now, but it still made him feel a little happy. Some still acknowledged him, and respected him. Some didn't, and though he hated to admit it, they made this already "kind of hard job", even harder.

 _Back when he was first being crowned as leader, the other monsters doubted him. Papyrus didn't like that very much. Sure, he was innocent and maybe a little naive, but ignorant or stupid? Far from it. He was smart in a way that couldn't be measured by words on a page or complex mathematical equations._ _He just_ understood.  _Although, some of the less emotional individuals out there didn't see that. They just thought he saw being king as a cool job and everything was_  just fine.  _Maybe he did at first, but he still took is jobs seriously._

_After his first speech, declaring his plans in the best way he could, some minds changed. They thought, "Maybe this won't be so bad." or "One day, we'll be saved!"  Others' minds, however, remained the same - saying things like "They chose that weird skeleton guy as king?", "We must be desperate." After a while, it just...got to him. He left his meeting with a smile on his face and came back home with tears on it._

_Sans would be concerned (and, he had to admit, a little surprised). He wouldn't show it, because his type of "protectiveness" was subtle. Something in his soul told him that he might have seen this before, which made it all the more worse to see.  Papyrus would just fall onto his knees and into his arms. The tall skeleton has always been a physical person, but he was usually the one_ giving it,  _not_ needing it. _He'd expel a single, surprisingly quiet sob. He would later be ashamed of this. Papyrus thought his brother should never see him like this. Despite being younger, most monsters labeled him as the "responsible brother" - Sans did his fair share of help too, but again, it was subtle._

   Maybe today would go better. He stepped up to the podium, and tried to put on his best smile. Smiling was easy, it was the "best" part he was having trouble with...that was new.

   "HELLO, CITIZENS! I'M HERE TODAY TO GIVE THE MONTHLY REPORT. THERE IS...NOT MUCH TO REPORT." He picked up a piece of paper that Sans had written and read it. "AHEM! ROYAL POSITIONS ARE PENDING, RATIONS ARE "OK", HOMES ARE "OK", THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER "OK"S HERE. HOWEVER, IT SAYS SOCIETY IS STABLE - THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! WE UNDERSTAND THE HUMANS ARE...MIA. BUT! THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE CAN GIVE UP! WE CAN DO THIS. I, PAPYRUS, BELIEVE IN YOU." He hoped that went well. He did believe in them, he really did. Papyrus just wished  _they_ believed in  _him._

   "ANY QUESTIONS?"

   A small monster, most likely a Froggit, raised their arm. "(Ribbit.) Y-your highness?"

   The tall skeleton flinched minutely at the title, but continued. "YES, DEAR SUBJECT?"

   "When will we get out? (Ribbit.)"

   "U-UM..." He didn't know. He really didn't know. "SOON!"

Well, that went better than he expected.

 


	3. Not a chapter, sorry! ^^;

I don't think I'll be able to finish this, sorry! It's not that I don't want to, I do! I just didn't know how to do it. Also, I already have two other ideas in mind, and they both involve Dadster (father W.D. Gaster). One of them is canon Undertale, and the other is one of my favorite AU's - the Bad Brother AU! I wish there was more content on it, so...here I am! _Hopefully_ I'll be able to get to finishing those ideas.

If you want to know what I was planning on with this story, here's a series of events. I'd feel bad if I left you on a cliffhanger:

  * Sans would mull over the deaths, especially Toriel (who would be addressed as "The Lady Behind the Door".) 
  * Papyrus would think more over all the clues - he  _knew_ there was a problem, of course. He just didn't now what specifically. He would eventually find out about the deaths of his friends (by the process of looking for souls, and instead of finding those he finds  _dust_ in the coffins. It was hidden.) 
  * Tension! Tension! TENSION!
  * The skeleton brothers have a very long conversation. Papyrus tells the kingdom the truth and hopes for the best.
  * It would have a fluffy ending. It'd be like "This isn't a happy ending, but if we all stick together we can do it." 



ALSO! Here are some drawings for this story I did. The first one was done in late November, and the second one was done in late December, 2017.

BTW, if it’s hard to tell, Papyrus is thinking about Undyne because he misses her. 


End file.
